Around November of 2013, I lived in a rental apartment alone. Because it was rather cold, I began to build a fire. On the third evening after that, I went to bed a bit later than usual. I took the burnt briquette out of the stove and put it outside my bedroom, banked up the coal stove and also put a basin of water beside it, and then I went to sleep, leaving the door of my bedroom half closed.

About half an hour after I lay down, at around 1:00 a.m., I suddenly felt waves of pain in my head. I ached so much that I couldn’t bear it somewhat. When I opened my eyes, I felt a bit dizzy. I thought that I might get carbon monoxide poisoning. I sat up with difficulty to turn on the light which was about one meter away from me and could just be reached when I sat up at usual times, but unexpectedly, I failed to reach it and then fell from my bed. I felt much dizzier. I lay on the cold concrete ground and felt that I could hardly breathe and was weak all over. I wanted to stand up, but I couldn’t anyhow. I did my utmost to turn on the light by bracing against the door knob. I tried several times, but still failed. At the moment, it turned harder and harder for me to breathe and I felt as if I had but one breath left and I would probably lose my life at any time. In that instant, I suddenly realized: In the face of death, my life is so fragile and cannot withstand even a single blow. Be it money, fame and gain, emotion or good material enjoyments, all of these things can’t save me.

I clearly felt that death was approaching me step by step. I couldn’t help fearing. At the moment, I had only one thought in my heart: I will live! I want to live! In panic, I wanted to ask my neighbor for help. But I had scarcely shouted out before I felt there was something wrong: No, I can’t do that. In China, an atheistic country, my neighbor doesn’t believe in God. What if she sees the books of God’s word in my house? What if it brings trouble to the church? It is very dangerous to do so! And at that moment, I suddenly remembered: I believe in Almighty God who is the only true God. I still need to ask others for help? Now what I should do above all is to rely on God. So, I constantly cried out to God within, “Almighty God! May You save me.” And then I repeatedly sang the hymn of experience I just learned in my heart “I Am Walking the Path to the Kingdom”: “I am walking the path to the kingdom, reading God’s words while looking up to Him. His words are meaningful and earnest; His instructions are etched in my heart. God is concerned about me, His heart in pieces from worry, and He is fearful that I might be deceived and devastated by Satan. God’s words guided me and gave my life direction; only then was I able to set foot upon this path” (Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). While singing, I, who was in helplessness and despair, suddenly had a kind of indescribable moving in my heart, feeling: God is by my side. As long as I believe in Him and rely on Him, He will surely lead me to get through all difficulties. Moved by the Spirit of God, I had faith in God and was not so fearful.

Just then, a clear thought came into my mind: Get out of here right now! But I was so dizzy that I didn’t know where the door was. So, I unceasingly prayed to God in my heart. In a daze, I saw the door which was half closed. Having found the direction, I tried to stand up, but I didn’t have an ounce of strength left. So, I had no way but to crawl out of my bedroom slowly. That night, a few steps’ walk took me over ten minutes. When I finally managed to crawl to the living room, I, who was in dizziness, couldn’t find the gate of the house. I really couldn’t hold on any longer and then fainted. Not knowing how much time had passed by, I woke up and continued to crawl forward. I did my utmost to find the direction to go out, but always failed. Sometimes when I was clear-headed, I would pray to God, crying out to Him to save me. In that period, I didn’t know how many times I fainted and how long I had lain on the ground when I woke up again.

Later, when I looked around again, I suddenly saw a gleam of light from the gate. I was very happy, as if I saw the hope to live. What’s more, only at the moment did I find that the direction I crawled in before was wrong and that I would surely die in the end if I continued to crawl forward. I understood in my heart that it was God who secretly gave me the direction. This even more strengthened my faith to live. Without thinking further, I went on crawling toward the gleam of light. In this way, I finally crawled out of my house after I had been overcome by smoke for three hours. At the moment when the door was opened, a fresh breeze blew over me and I immediately felt very comfortable. I lay in the doorway for a good while and gradually recovered. Afterward, I stood up slowly and went back to my house to open the door and window to air the room. I was dizzy while doing that. Because it took some while to air the room and my head still ached terribly, I wanted to go to the yard to get some fresh air. It was almost daybreak at that time. I thought: The smoke has not yet been blown away. I can’t stay at home. Where can I go now? I suddenly remembered that an old sister lived near me, so I giddily walked to her house.

When I arrived at the old sister’s home, she asked me with concern once seeing me, “Have you suffered carbon monoxide poisoning?” I nodded my head and told her what happened to me. She gave an acupuncture treatment on my forehead and chin. I bled badly and the blood was dark purple. And then she said to me, “Thank God for His protection! Sister, do you know how many people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning every year? See, those who don’t come before God have no one to lean on in face of disasters, while we believe in God, so we have reliance as well as God’s protection. You can wake up after being overcome by smoke. Isn’t this all God’s mercy and salvation? Almighty God is the only true God. All things in the universe are controlled in His hand. Our life and death are even more ruled over and determined by God. All we should do is to have faith in Him and call out to Him wholeheartedly. God says, ‘So long as you still have one breath, God will not let you die’ (“Chapter 6” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). This time, you were overcome by smoke, but you came out safely from danger. This is all because God protects and cares for you. God’s love is really too great! We thank God!” While hearing this, I couldn’t help shedding tears.

I thought back to God’s care and protection for me last night: After I was overcome by smoke, I couldn’t find the way out and didn’t know what I should do. When I was in fear and despair in face of death, God used a hymn to comfort me; when I couldn’t find the door and fainted several times, it was also God who led me to find the way out finally; at usual times, I am used to closing the door of my bedroom when I go to sleep, but I unknowingly left it half closed last night. If not, I couldn’t have found the door of my bedroom, let alone crawled to the living room; besides, if it were not for the gleam of light from the gate, I would not have found the direction to get out. These scenes moved me: If it were not for God’s leading, what would I be like now? Today I can have this breath. It is given by God. This is God’s almightiness and sovereignty. It is because God is always watching by my side quietly to protect me that I can turn the danger to safety and escape from the verge of death. Thanks be to God!

Later, I just knew: That night, I didn’t bank up the stove well. In addition, I stoked the stove with another briquette before going to sleep, so the smoke from burning coal was very heavy at the moment. If I had stayed inside for one more hour, I would probably have died. Even if I had been rescued luckily, it would leave sequela on me. I also learned from my sisters: A 22-year-old boy fell asleep in his room and when his mother woke him up at 11:00 a.m. the next day, the boy had already died from gas poisoning; there was also another unbeliever who wanted to use the remaining heat of the burnt briquette to get warm but died from gas poisoning in the end. By contrast, although I had been overcome by gas for so long a time, not only did I wake up, but it didn’t leave any sequela on me. I felt myself very lucky. If it were not for God’s protection, I would have long died, and I couldn’t possibly pick up the pen to write this article about God’s wondrous protection for me that night. Thinking of this, I unceasingly thanked God in my heart.

Almighty God says, “When the waters swallow humans whole, I save them from those stagnant waters and give them a chance to live anew. When people lose their confidence to live, I pull them up from the brink of death, granting them the courage to go on so that they can use Me as a foundation for their existence” (“Chapter 14” of God’s Words to the Entire Universe). God’s word is filled with God’s love for mankind. When we face the disasters and death, our life is so fragile and cannot withstand even a single blow. Only God can give us the hope to live, and only God can reach out His saving hand to pull us up from danger and disasters when we are most helpless. Isn’t my experience the best proof? Thank God for His salvation for me, from which I truly see that only Almighty God is our one and only salvation in face of calamities and death.